Driving tool and holder attachment



May 5, 1959 H. E. DIERKER DRIVING TOOL AND-HOLDER ATTACHMENT Filed Aug.17. 1955 1N V EN TOR.

Hay E @12er/(fer DRIVING TOOL AND HOLDER ATTACHMENT Hugh E. Dierker, LosAngeles, Calif.

Application August 17, 1953, Serial No. 374,527

2 Claims. (Cl. 145-52) This invention relates to an attachment for atool for holding a fastening device, such as a screw, bolt, nail and thelike, in engagement with the tool, for the purpose of driving or forremoving the fastening device, and a general object of the invention isto provide a new and improved holder that is adapted for easy andconvenient operation thereof and is simple in construction, permittingit to be manufactured at low cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastening device holderof the spring loaded type that is enclosed in a housing and adapted foreasy attachment to the shank of a driving tool.

Another object is the provision of a fastening device holder having alever for operating the holder which permits the use in the holder of astrong enough spring to hold a fastening device rmly in place andsecurely in engagement with a tool element for driving the fasteningdevice.

A further object is to provide a holder for mounting on the shank of adriving tool and operable by a lever which in one form of the inventionutilizes the handle of the tool as a fulcrum for the lever.

Still another object is to provide a lever operated fastening deviceholder on a tool, wherein the lever may be easily moved on the tool soas not to interfere with operation of the tool when used in driving afastening device.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in thefollowing part of the specification wherein the details of constructionand mode of operation of two specific embodiments of the invention aredescribed with reference to the attached drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a screw driver equipped with ascrew holding attachment embodying a form of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to that of Fig. 2 but illustratingthe relative positions of the screw driver and screw holding attachmentwhen operated to receive a screw; f

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the screw driver and screw holdingattachment of Fig. 1, with a locked-in screw ready to drive;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the screw driver and attachment, taken in thedirection of the arrows on line 5-5 of Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken substantially online 6,-6 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is an axial section of a modied form of this invention.

The invention is illustrated in the drawing as applied to screw drivers,and more particularly to screw drivers of the type wherein the screwengaging ends thereof are contoured to lit into cross slots in the headsof specially formed screws known as Phillips head screws. The inventionis, of course, applicable for use with screw drivers of other well-knowndesign, and is adaptable for use nited States Patent to hold and drivefastening devices of various types such as nails, tacks, bolts, etc.

Referring now to the details of the drawing, the numeral 10 designatesthe shank of Ia screw driver having a handle 11 fixed on one end andbeing contoured at its outer end to provide a tool head 12 adapted totit into the cross slots in the head of a screw 13, shown in Fig. 4. Thehandle 11 of the screw driver carries a ferrule 14 on its inner end, forreenforcing the handle in the usual manner.

In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the attachment on the shank 11 for holding ascrew in engagement with the tool head 12 comprises a sleeve or housingformed of an outer tubular section 15 and a tubular section 16 of largerdiameter than the section 15. The sections 15 and 16 are connectedtogether in axial alignment and in substantially end-to-end relationwith the overall length of the housing being nearly equal to that of theportion of the shank 10 which extends from the handle 11. In theembodiment shown in the drawing, the connection for the sections of thehousing constitutes a threaded connection whereby the section 15 may bedisconnected from the section 16. Thus the section 16 may be used withouter sections having screw engaging seats of various sizes. If desired,the section 15 may be fixed permanently in the end of the section 16 inany suitable way as, for example, by spinning the outer end` of section16 over a anged end on section 15.

The tubular section 16 houses a coil spring 19 around shank 10. One endof the spring 19 abuts against a bushing 20 which is slidable on theshank and held in the end of the tubular section 16 by means of aninwardly extending annular end flange 21 spun over the bushing. Theouter end of the spring 19 abuts against a stop or ring 22 which ismounted and secured in adjusted position on shank 10 by means of a setscrew 23 carried by the ring. The set screw is of a length such thatwhen tightened on the shank the head thereof will not extend beyond theouter periphery of the ring, thus permitting the tubular section 16 toslide over the ring without interference from the set screw. A hole 25is formed in the Wall of the tubular section 16 for access to the setscrew 23 with a small tool for tightening the set screw to the shank ofthe screw driver. It is seen, therefore, that the holder is secured tothe shank of the screw driver by a single screw, permitting the housingto be removed by merely loosening the set screw 23. Thus, should thetool end of the screw driver become worn or burred, it may be removedeasily and quickly replaced by another screw driver.

The outer end of the tubular section 15 is provided with an inwardlyextending annular llange 28, the purpose of which is to seat theunderside of the head of a screw such as that shown at 13 in Fig. 4, andto hold the screw with its head in engagement with the tool end 12.Access to the seat of ange 28 is had through an opening 29 formed in theside wall of section 15 adjacent its outer end, and through a slot 30 inthe flange 28 ex-4 tending from the side opening 29. The Width of theopening 29 is substantially equal to the internal diameter of section15. As thus described, it wil'l be seen that the annular end flange 28constitutes a seat of bifurcated form for receiving and holding thescrew 13 in engagement with the tool end 12.

To shift the screw holding housing outwardly on the shank for insertinga screw with its head between the tool end 12 and the bifurcated seat28, I provide a lever 32 positioned on the shank 10 and arranged betweenthe inner end of the housing and the handle 11 of the screw driver. Thelever 32 has a hole 33 for receiving the shank of the screw driver, andthe hole 33 is of oblong shape with ,its longer diameter being greaterthan the diameter of the shank lil for freely pivoting the lever on theshank. The outer end of the lever 32 may be bent as indicated at 34, ina direction toward the handle of the screw driver, to provide athumbpiece for operating the lever. When the thnmbpiece of the lever ispressed downwardly, as from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown1n Fig. 3, the lever will turn on kthe edge of the ferru'le 14, whichacts as a fulcrurn for the lever'. The end 35 of the lever will thenpress against the end flange 21 of the housing to move the housingoutwardly on the shank lll against the force of the spring 29, thus spring the bifurcated seat 2S from the tool end 12. With a screw placed inthe seat 28, release of the lever will cause the housing to slide by theaction of the spring, in a direction toward the handle 11 until thetoo-l end 12 engages th head of the screw as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, thescrew may be started and turned, even in places not readily accessible.lt should be noted too, that since the lever is free to rotate on theshank, it may be moved around on the shank to a position where it willnot interfere with the driving of a screw in an out-of-the-way place.

After starting the screw it may be disengaged from the tool by pressingon the thumbpiece of the lever 32 and sliding the bifurcatcd seat awayfrom the screw. When the lever is again released, coil spring 19 willslide the housing toward the handle of the screw driver to expose thetool end 12 beyond the seat 28. Thus the screw driver may then be usedto tighten the screw and drive it home. n

To prevent ibarring of the screw head and to insure that the screw isbeing driven straight, especially when starting the screw, it isnecessary to apply a strong force between the tool and the screw to keepthem in tight engagement with each other. The screw holder of thepresent invention is particularly well suited for uses requiringunusually strong forces for this purpose, and to this end the coilspring 19 may constitute a relatively strong spring. l have found thatin some cases coil springs of as much as 35 pounds spring tension may beused to obtain optimum screw and tool engaging forces. Even with aspring of such high tension the screw holder may be actuated easily bythe lever provided by this invention. A relatively strong spring isneeded for properly holding fastening devices of long length. In allcases, however, the actuating lever of this invention provides a simple,convenient and effective way for operating the holder against the strongforce of the coil spring.

Fig. 7 illustrates a form of the invention, wherein the screw holdingattachment is mounted permanently on the tool end 39 of the shank lll ofa screw driver. The housing of the attachment in this form constitutes asleeve 41 having a counterbore 42 to receive a coil spring 43. As in theembodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the spring 43 abuts at its inner endagainst a bushing 44, slidable on the shank 49, and at its outer endagainst a spring clip or washer 4Stted into an annular groove 46 aroundthe shank for holding the clip 45 and keeping it from sliding on theshank. The bushing 44 is secured in the inner end of the sleeve 41 inany suitable manner as, for example, by sweating or by screwing it inthe end of the sleeve. The outer end of the sleeve is provided with ascrew head seat similar to that of the form shown in Fig. 1. Also, thetool end of shank 4l) may be recessed around its end as indicated at 4S,to expose the end of the tool appreciably beyond the screw head seat forturning the screw after it has been disengaged from the holder.

The fulcrum for the lever 32 in the device illustrated in Fig. 7,constitutes a collar 50 which is slidably adjustable on the shank 40 andadapted to he fixed to the shank as with the set screw 51. For useswhere a long series of screws are to be started, the sleeve 41 and thecollar 5l) may be moved outwardly on the shank 40 to a place where thecollar will hold the sleeve 41 with its screw seat spaced slightly fromthe tool end of the driver` Thus, as an operator proceeds from one screwto another, he need apply but slight pressure on the lever to provideenough space between the screw seat and the tool end of the driver toreceive a screw head. This advantage is substantial in efficient massproduction processes.

Should it be desirable to position the lever 32 adjacent to the handleof the screw driver of Fig. 7, the collar 50 may be fixed to the shankat a place close to the handle of the screw driver, and a satisfactorysleeve (not shown) may be positioned on the shank 4i) between the lever32 and the inner end of the spring housing.

I claim:

l. A holder adapted for use with a driving tool and comprising: atubular housing formed of two sections connected together substantiallyin end to end relation, one of said sections being of smaller diameterthan the other of said sections, the outer end of said one sectionhaving a slot therein for accommodating the head of a fastening device;a collar slidable within the other said section, the outer end of saidother section Vhaving an inwardly Wextending portion; a coil springwithin said other section and operatively engaged at one end thereofwith said inwardly extending portion and its other end with said collar;center holes in the inwardly extending portion and in the collar foraccommodating the shank of a driving tool; means on said collar foradjustably securing the collar to said shank; an opening in the sidewall of said other section to admit a tool for operating said collarsecuring means; and said holder being freely removable from the shank ofthe tool when said collar is unsecured.

2. A holder adapted for use with a driving tool, comprising: a tubularhousing formed of two sections connected together with axial alignmentand in substantially end to end relation, one of said sections being ofsmaller diameter than the other of said section, the outer end of onesection having a slot therein for receiving the head of a fasteningdevice; a collar slidable in said other section; a coil spring withinsaid other section and operatively engageable at one end thereof withsaid section and at its other end with said collar; center holes in thecollar and ring through which the shank of a driving tool may beextended; a radially extending and tapped hole extending through saidcollar; a set screw in said tapped hole; an opening in the side wall ofsaid other section near the end thereof permitting access to said setscrew when the said other section is in extended position for securingsaid collar to the shank of a driving tool; and said holder being freelyremovable from the shank of the tool when said set screw is not secured.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 258,329Thomas May 23, 1882 1,529,528 Wohead Mar. 10, 1925 1,539,782 StansellMay 26, 1925 1,641,307 Velepec Sept. 6, 1927 1,645,753 Hanson Oct. 18,1927 1,777,395 `Coon Oct. 7, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 839,757 France Jan. 7,1939

